Managing Today’s IT and Technical Professionals

Managing information technology professionals demands a whole new set of skills.How do you get people who typically work alone to function as a team unit? How do you get through to your direct reports to give constructive feedback and create the right energy to get things done?

At this seminar, you'll broaden your perspective, get a keen understanding of the way technical professionals function and communicate so you can get your project teams, task forces and work groups working together with greater efficiency. You will examine your role in everyday interaction and practice specific skills on running meetings, coaching and providing feedback while leveraging talents in your direct reports to help you reach your goals.

Also Available as:

• Live Online
• Onsite

How You Will Benefit

• Understand what drives or motivates IT professionals
• Develop a broader organizational perspective
• Learn which combination of best management approaches works best for your team of information technology professionals
• Align the IT professional’s goals with business goals
• Analyze performance based on business requirements

What You Will Cover

• Using the MBTI® Instrument to understand your type and the working styles of those you manage
• How the characteristics of “typical” IT professionals affect your management action
• Planning—the foundation of managing technical professionals
• Making decisions with technical professionals
• Delegating, motivating and coaching
• Choosing talented technical professionals
• Managing progress and evaluating performance
• Managing effective communication in a changing world

Extended Seminar Outline

Print this page Extended Seminar Outline Seminar #2285 Learning Objectives

• Understand the Basic Management Skills of Planning, Decision Making, Delegating, Motivating, Coaching, Hiring and Evaluating
• Understand How Managing Technical Professionals Is Both the Same as and Different from Managing Non-Technical Professionals
• Know Your Own Personality and How to Use It as an Effective Manager
• Understand the Uniqueness of Each Individual and What It Takes to Manage Him or Her Successfully
• Develop Particular Communication Skills That Can Help You Manage Change
• Know How to Ask Questions That Promote Understanding
• Understand Your Unique Role and How to Prepare for It
• Understand How to Translate Ideas into Actions That Get the Results You and Your Own Manager Want

The Management of Technical Professionals

• Understand the Challenges Facing All Managers
• Understand the Particular Challenges Facing Technical Managers
• Make the Transition from Technical Professional to Manager
• Analyze Your Roles in Leading, Managing, Delegating and Doing, and Apply Those Roles Appropriately

Applying Personality Type to Technical Professionals

• Understand Your Personality Type and That of Others
• Manage the Implications of Uniqueness and Sameness
• Use Personality Type in Problem Solving
• Adopt Communication to Different Psychological Types

SMART Objectives—A Foundation for Managing Technical Professionals

• Understand the Use of the Vision and Mission
• Be Able to Set S.M.A.R.T. Objectives

Making Decisions with Technical Professionals

• Understand the Continuum of Decision Making
• Choose the Best Approach for Each Decision
• Use Decision Making to Build Your Team

Delegating, Motivating and Coaching: The Power Tools for Managing Technical Professionals

• Use the Learning Curve to Manage Technical Professionals
• Delegate for Development and Productivity
• Motivate Technical Professionals
• Use Coaching and Feedback for Development

Choosing Talented Technical Professionals

• Define the Skills, Behaviors and Talents That You Need for Any Position
• Construct Effective Interview Questions
• Understand the Legal and Policy Requirements in Hiring
• Conduct Effective Interviews

Managing Progress and Evaluating Performance

• Know How to Set Expectations for Performance
• Know How to Conduct Formal Annual Performance Reviews and Informal Quarterly Reviews
• Use the Power Tools of Delegation, Motivation and Coaching to Manage Progress and Evaluate Performance
• Be Able to Deal with Mismatches between Performance and Need

Planning and Taking Action

• Deploy a Tactical Plan
• Make Change Happen

Who Should Attend

IT and technical professionals who have been—or are about to be—promoted to a management position…experienced managers who are new to the technical environment.

Special Feature

This Seminar Features Blended Learning

AMA Blended Learning combines instructor-led training with online pre- and post-seminar assessments, tune-up courses and other resources to maximize your training goals. Through a blend of proven instructor-led seminars and powerful online technology, AMA Blended Learning provides a compelling and more comprehensive experience for the learner—producing a greater return-on-investment for the employer and the seminar participant.